So now she admires Communist poets or at least that's the impression I get from reading his Wikipedia entry.

5:50 pm October 31, 2012

mike wrote:

Hard work and talent pay off!

6:23 pm October 31, 2012

Leigh wrote:

Her work can be very pretty, but ultimately not particularly interesting. Her latest video - Begin Again - is a pleasant snorer.

7:31 pm October 31, 2012

Seriously? wrote:

One can like the poetry without admiring the poet's political preferences.

"liking Taylor less and less" must be a liberal given the strong evidence of the absence of logic and tolerance in her post.

10:03 pm October 31, 2012

Cumulus cloud wrote:

Christopher, jump to huff post and read " 10 life lessons learned from Red singer". Excellent insights, and it will give you a whole new perspective. Random: a few times I've read writers note as you do that their young sons listen to green day, jay-z etc. who cares? I grew up listening to popular male songwriters, seeing life through their worldview. To have a popular female songwriter, seeing things from her worldview, is refreshing. I would contend that her Neruda quote is not out of place, but that her album speaks to a different audience. If Swift tried to write her Mitchell's Blue, I have no doubt she would be crucified for perceived Pretension. Not often noted is her love of performance, how she "sees" how songs fit together in her next concert. That all said--I agree that she is an artist, and hope that in the future, she will have the confidence and stature to fully explore and express her great artistic talents.

10:45 pm October 31, 2012

Cumulus cloud wrote:

Chrisopher--I just realized you said the first song from Red is "We are never ever getting back together". But that is the 8th song on the cd. You make vague suggestions that "some of her songs" may have been written for younger fans--without naming titles. On the flip side, you don't reference songs such as All Too Well. My impression? If you listened to the entire cd at all-- you distorted the totality of her songs on this album just to suit your article, and you don't note what her expressed aim was in writing music for this cd. Your omissions undercut any truth or value your article might have had. I am disappointed.

11:39 pm October 31, 2012

Leah wrote:

Reading your article, i just felt like you haven't really listened to her entire album because there were more than just a couple of songs on the album that shows her musical and lyrical maturity. Taylor's songs are more than just straight-up pop, it's infusion of genres and she makes it work. And for the record, her music reaches a whole lot of audience who are not tweens or teens because I, myself, am in my 20s and I grew up listening to her records.

12:49 am November 1, 2012

David wrote:

The line you quote from "Tim McGraw" has absolutely nothing to do with Swift comparing herself to Country greats! What is interesting is that a song Swift wrote at 15, about her first real relationship, is still being played in college settings seven years later. One doesn't have to be 15, or even female, to appreciate an artistic depiction of the emotions of that age, especially when rendered with the kind of honesty. passion and eye for detail that Taylor possesses. Good as that song was, "All Too Well" is an even better example of bittersweet wistfulness, rivaling anything Don Henley ever wrote. And what a smart move to lighten the mood of that song by following it with the girls' night out rave-up of "22"-- one of those more pop-influenced numbers you suggest Taylor is using to pander to younger fans. It's probably one of the most lighthearted things she's done since "Our Song", but lyrically ""You look like bad news, I gotta have you" is, oh, at least 9 or 10 years older than asking God to "play it again".

7:26 am November 1, 2012

juliazoe4 wrote:

“liking Taylor less and less” must be a liberal given the strong evidence of the absence of logic and tolerance in her post.

Editor Comment

9:08 am November 1, 2012

Christopher John Farley wrote:

@Cumulus cloud Thanks for your comment. "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" was the first song released as a single from the new CD.

9:50 am November 1, 2012

neftali wrote:

Check out the critically-acclaimed bestselling book of Neruda translations for that poem in it's entirety, plus a lot more: The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems http://amzn.com/0872864286

and yes, @juliazoe4, couldn't agree more, while I don't always agree with Neruda's politics, first you have to put them in context with Latin America and Chile during his time but more so, @liking Taylor less and less, it's a love poem he published when he was 20. That's how you judge your music?

10:51 am November 1, 2012

neftali wrote:

Exactly,, juliazoe. @liking taylor less and less: While I might not agree with all of his politics, first you have to put them in the context of Chile and his era, but much more so, the poem she likes was written when he was 20 years old, it is a straight out love poem. crazy.

For the entire poem and more Neruda, check out The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems

1:04 pm November 1, 2012

s wrote:

I love that you mentioned Derek Walcott

11:50 pm November 1, 2012

Barbara wrote:

I'm glad David noted how you don't have to be female to appreciate Taylor swift's music. I met my husband when he was a very young dj, and I was experiencing my own Begin Again". Our lives have changed in many ways, but my husband has never lost his love of music--all kinds of music. He can tell you about the Carter family, or how Scottish fiddle music is related to Cajun....when we talked about Ta

1:08 am November 2, 2012

Barbara wrote:

Technology failed me? Or I missed the cutoff time? Or this site is really slow in posting comments? Whatever.Suffice to say, my husband has wide ranging tastes in music, and he appreciates Swift's prodigious talent with words and music. I also find the insistence of some members of the press to try and pigeonhole Swift's music as being exclusively for tweens and teens is tedious.
I'd also like to know how Ted Hughes entered into a discussion of Taylor Swift, but save it. The chatter about Neruda is tiresome enough.

2:02 pm January 3, 2013

chelsea pruitt chincoteague va vacation park LN 6456 wrote:

i dont like people who dont/like taylor swift but i am turning 14 january 26th and i want to go see one of her concerts so if any one finds two tickets call 443-523-7893/7894/7892

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